


Call to Hunt

by wingthing



Category: Elfquest
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-28
Updated: 2015-08-28
Packaged: 2018-04-17 15:41:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,368
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4672139
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wingthing/pseuds/wingthing
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Wolfriders move to the rainforest, and Suntop seeks to prove himself.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Call to Hunt

The birds were just starting to sing when Skywise stepped outside his sprawling den to greet the evening. Most of the Wolfriders rose a few hours after noon, but Skywise and Savin had stayed up until nearly dawn the night before, and felt they had earned a long sleep. 

Dressed in nothing more than a tattered pair of pants, Skywise surveyed the rainforest. The Great Holt was nine years old now, begun back when his youngest daughter was only three. Thorny Mountain had served them well for almost six turns of the seasons, but after a particularly cold winter, in which one of the wolves froze to death in an ice storm, Swift had decided it was time to move south. After moons of travel south, searching for a good location, Redlance and Swift found a huge tree that branched out in all directions, guarding a lush clearing by a meandering river. They had named it the Grandfather Tree, and Redlance had gotten to work joining its branches to limbs of nearby trees. The branches grew taller, fanned out into huge platforms and bridges. The forest seemed to approve of the Wolfriders, and each season new growth of vines and flowers decorated the dens shaped high above the ground. 

The weather was deliciously mild, hot and humid in the summer, gentle in the winter. The only downside to life in the rainforest was the yearly flood in what, to the Wolfriders, had always been the death-sleep season. Now it was the wet season, when endless rains swelled their river until the tree-trunks of Great Holt were submerged in water ten feet deep. But few minded. Those who could not swim learned, and played at being river dolphins where the meadows disappeared under the blue waters. Even the wolves seemed unfazed, and they simply moved up into the hills. 

Skywise glanced back inside his den, where his young lifemate still slept, under a thin sheet of soft cloth that Newstar and the Sun Villagers learned how to make from the plants that grew nearby. Savin’s long auburn hair fell across her neck and shoulders, half obscuring her face. Her kin lived still further south, but a mere ten days travel, and no more than a second if they used the Palace. The Palace itself stood not too far away, disguised to appear like a rolling hill of greenery. Not that strangers came by too often, for the nearby human encampments were days away. But they took no chances, just the same. 

Skywise thought of waking Savin with a sending star, but decided to let her sleep. He stepped out onto the branches and strode towards one of the many meeting terraces where a cluster of branches met. Vines twined along the paths like guard ropes, with scarcely a nudge from Redlance’s powers. It was as though the trees wanted with all theirs hearts to be a home for the elves. 

Skywise was halfway up the last incline to the terrace, where he could already see Newstar, Teru, Shenshen and Moonsbreath at work on their cloth-pounding, when he heard the mournful howl of a broken-hearted wolf fluttering through the trees. 

He recognized the voice instantly, even after fourteen years without his wolfblood. It was Swift. 

* * * 

Swift, Blood of Ten Chiefs, howled. She carried the sad note until it rose above the bird chatter, then hung her head and let the echo fade. She had been searching for her wolf-friend ever since the early afternoon. But at last she had found old Skyfrost, lying cold and still in the ferns. By dusk the forest scavengers would find the body. By morning the bones would be cleaned white and shiny. 

Timmain nudged Swift with her white muzzle. Swift knelt down on the ferns and scratched the white wolf’s jawline. “Poor old Skyfrost. There wasn’t much love lost between us. Still... I’ll miss her.” 

Timmain “buffed” a condolence, then sniffed the dead wolf. She nudged Swift with her muzzle again, then gently seized Swift’s vest and pulled at it, guiding the chieftess away. Swift slowly got to her feet and paced alongside the wolf. 

“Aren’t you tired of being a wolf, Timmain?” she asked. “Running with the pack, being one with them as only another wolf can, only to watch them die, one by one. I know Starjumper could never want anything more – his blood may be part-elfin, but his soul is pure wolf. But you’re a High One. Don’t you want to be an elf again?” 

Timmain made a strange snorting sound. 

“Ah, maybe you’re too senseless now... too limited. I bet you can’t even understand me.” A moment later Swift laughed aloud. “Timmain! Such a sending from the Mother of Wolfriders! I’m sure the others would not approve.” Swift smiled wryly and scratched the wolf behind her ear. There was little love lost between chieftess and High One too, yet somehow, Timmain always managed to cheer her up. 

* * * 

“Mother,” Suntop embraced Swift when she returned to the Holt. “I heard the howl. Is Skyfrost dead?” 

Swift nodded, and he hugged her even tighter. “It’s all right,” Swift smiled, embracing her son in return. “She lived a good long life. It won’t hurt as much in a few days.” She held Suntop at arm’s length admiringly. He was twenty-two now, as tall as Rayek, with shoulder-length golden hair, richer and brighter in tone than his mother’s. His jewel-blue eyes were always changing, now as bright as a cub’s, now as deep and ageless as a High One’s. Little wonder Rayek and Savah proudly predicted that Suntop would one day become the most powerful of all magic-users. 

“You can ride my Pebble, until you get a new wolf.” 

Swift smiled fondly as she glanced over Suntop’s shoulder, at the gray wolf waiting expectantly for her elf-friend. “Oh, I don’t think Pebble would like that. Besides, how could I take away the wolf-friend you waited so long to find?” 

Suntop blushed, and a deep bronze shaded his cheeks. How could he forget his impassioned pleas to the stars for a wolf-friend, when he had been a little cub? He had been convinced he would be no more likely to have a wolf than his father, until little Pebble was born, eight years ago. 

“Don’t worry about me, Suntop,” Swift said. “I’ll be all right – I just need to keep moving, keep working. Here, you better get going to the Palace. You have lessons with your father now, don’t you?” 

Suntop nodded. “Sometimes... I kind of wish I could just go riding Pebble. Reading the Scroll, practicing my sending – it can give me such a headache trying to be the ‘clear stream.’” 

“Then don’t let that ol’ bead-rattler push you around,” Swift whispered, nudging his shoulder. “Get Petalwing to wrapstuff him up good and come hunting with me.” 

Suntop laughed. “And face Father afterwards?” 

Swift shrugged. “True enough.” 

Suntop hugged her, then whistled for Pebble. The wolf loped to his side and he climbed on her back. Swift watched fondly as her son disappeared into the jungle. He was more of a Wolfrider than one might think. 

* * * 

Rayek watched as Suntop turned the Scroll of Colors. The stream of images flowed seamlessly from one event to the next. Past, present and possible futures intermingled. 

“Well done, Suntop. Remember, keep your focus.” 

Suntop watched the images stream by. A storm lashed against a distant coastline. Savah was contemplating the Little Palace with Ahdri at her side. A flock of large birds of prey soared over the World’s Spine. 

“You’re seeing the world today. Good, Suntop. Hold this moment in your mind and let it happen in the Scroll.” 

Brutish humans laid out large stones in a semi-circle in some tribal ritual. A dark shadow passed over the sea as one of the giant hawks returned to its nest at the collapsed Blue Mountain. A troll popped out of a burrow and scowled at the midday sun. 

The images in the Scroll suddenly blurred into a palette of blues and grays. In the center of the light-stream the color resolved into the image of a young elf-maiden, sitting on the grass with a spear lying across her bare legs. A light shone in her deep blue eyes and she grinned at some unseen delight. 

“So much for focus,” Rayek scoffed. 

Suntop blinked. “Oh.” 

“Ah, for the day you can read the Scroll without using it to spy on Quicksilver.” 

“Sorry, Father. I just...” 

“Well, let’s see what she’s so happy about, if we’re going to be studying her today.” 

Suntop blushed at the wry scolding. He stared at the scroll and the image changed. Quicksilver shrank into the background as the focus withdrew to show a larger picture. Skywise’s daughters were practicing their weapon’s training. While Quicksilver sat and watching, Yun was sparing with Redlance, meeting every one of his thrusts with a solid check of her spear’s shaft. 

“They’re getting better.” 

“Mm,” Rayek shrugged. The stargazer’s daughters were progressing very well with their training, but Rayek would never admit it. 

Yun pivoted, and struck Redlance’s spear right out of his hands. Quicksilver laughed and clapped her hands. The elder sister was one year shy of two eights now, and a hellion with her spear and sword. Her blond hair was wild, despite the old leather headband that had once belonged to her father. Her latest growth spurt had already set her just as tall as Redlance, and she knew how to use her height to her advantage. Rayek imagined that she would soon be able to spar with Nightfall without bruises. 

Quicksilver was, by contrast, small for her twelve years, and would surely be petite in adulthood. Her outfit was a collection of gray leather scraps sewn together into brief shorts and a tiny vest. As always, she was barefoot. Now that Yun had finished her session, Quicksilver stood up and stretched, then hefted her own spear. Her hair was as rich and glossy a silver as her grandfather Shale, and she tousled it with her hand as she stepped forward to face the treeshaper. 

She met the first thrust of Redlance’s spear, but he caught her off guard with the second one, and she wobbled as he gave her a little love-tap on the shoulder with the shaft. 

“Keep your arm up...” Suntop whispered under his breath. Quicksilver’s gift was for the dagger and short-sword, not the spear. Almost as though she heard him, Quicksilver raised her spear to block the next attack. 

“All right, Suntop, it’s time to move on,” Rayek said. But Suntop was entranced by the image in the scroll. 

“Suntop...” Rayek tapped his sandaled foot on the floor. 

“Mmm?” 

“Suntop!” 

The youth leapt into the air. “Sorry. What were you saying?” 

“I was saying that I’m not sure Skywise would approve of you stalking his youngest daughter like a wolf on the hunt.” 

He blushed again. “I was just... checking up on her. She is my soul sister, you know that. We’ve been... closer than kin since she was born.” 

“Your mother and Skywise are soul siblings, but I doubt they were ever so tightly joined at the hip. Great Sun – we only got her out of your den two years ago. And somehow I suspect you’ll be treeing together again within another two years.” 

“Father!” 

Rayek smiled ruefully. “Oh, get out of here, Suntop. It’s clear your head’s not on your lessons.” 

“Really?” 

“Go, go.” 

“I mean – I’m not disappointing you, am I?” 

Rayek laughed. “Did your mother teach you that look?” He gave Suntop’s button-nose a playful tweak. “Go on, shoo.” 

Suntop was already racing for the door. “Thanks, Father!” 

Rayek sighed and shook his head as he sought out the crystal throne. Great Sun! Who could have imagined that when Quicksilver was born, twelve years earlier, she would cast such a spell over the Palace Master’s son? Since Quicksilver was old enough to hold her head up, she was always making dreamy eyes at Suntop. And Suntop soon turned from devoted cub-minder to devoted brother-in-all-but-blood. 

And yet, there was a certain something between the two cubs... something that had never been between Swift and Skywise. 

By Yurek, they had better Recognize soon, or I’ll never get that boy’s head out of the clouds. 

Rayek turned to the Scroll of Colors and willed the scrolls to turn. The image flashed to a picture of Venka. Rayek’s daughter was sitting on the riverbank with her lovemate, Zhantee, watching the potter carefully shaping a small vase. Venka leaned in to brush Zhantee’s pointed earlobe with her lips, and Rayek hastily changed the image on the Scroll. 

Where are those little cubs of a few years ago? Things were so much easier when they could be carried one in each arm. 

Then again... maybe not. Rayek distinctly remembered an episode at Blue Mountain when the cubs were only five years old. 

Very well, things were so much easier when they couldn’t move under their own power. Feeling nostalgic, Rayek summoned up an image on the Scroll of the six month old twins at Sorrow’s End. He saw himself floating Suntop high in the air while Venka lay on her back on a soft rabbit-skin rug, clutching her feet in her chubby fists and rocking back and forth, giggling at her airborne brother. 

Yes... perfect. There’s the moment. 

The minute they learned how to crawl, however... 

He turned the Scroll again, and this time an image of Swift appeared. The chieftess was in council with Skywise and Eyes High. Rayek could tell by Swift’s posture that she was only vaguely interested in what was being said. How like Swift to try to bury her heartbreak in work. She was determined to prove herself stoic, to be a true Wolfrider chief and accept the natural order of things – even though all she wanted to do was curl into a ball and hide under a fur until the pain of Skyfrost’s death ebbed from her heart. 

Savin sprinted up to the trio. She bore a look of worry on her face. 

Instantly Rayek felt Swift’s mind touch his. **Rayek. We need you.** 

**What’s happened?** 

**We have intruders in the Great Holt.** 

* * * 

Suntop stumbled into the clearing just as Redlance was collecting the blunted spears from Yun and Quicksilver. Yun stretched languidly, then untied her headband, and fluffed the sweat from her hair. She then retied her headband. “Hello, Suntop. Nice entrance.” 

Suntop kicked away the creeper vine entangled about his ankle. “Thanks, Yun.” Just then Pebble caught up with him, and her head collided with the back of his knees. He tottered, and almost fell, while Pebble “buff”ed an apology and gave his hand a lick. 

“See, you have to spend more time out of the Palace,” she teased. “Otherwise you’ll never learn how to walk in the woods without getting trapped in the weeds.” 

“Leave him alone, Yun,” Quicksilver chirped. “It’s not his fault last wet season got the vines growing twice as fast as usual.” 

Yun glanced back at Quicksilver, and a private sending clearly passed between sisters, for Quicksilver flushed red and gave her sister a solid blow to thebicep. Yun only laughed. 

“Did I miss something?” Suntop asked innocently. 

Yun only gave Suntop an enigmatic smirk – very much like her father’s. She put two fingers to her lips and whistled. “Mudskipper! Get out here, you lazy-bones!” 

A lanky gray wolf sprang out of underbrush, covered in creepers and leaves. He stretched in a play bow, then leapt up at Yun, planting his muddied front paws on her shoulders. “Augh, get off me, you stonehead.” 

Mudskipper reluctantly set four paws on the ground long enough for Yun to spring on his back. “You’d think he was still a cub. Why can’t you be more like your sister Pebble, hmm? All right, stonehead, let’s go hunting.” 

Yun and Mudskipper took off into the lush green undergrowth, and soon disappeared from sight. Quicksilver glanced back at Suntop, then bounced on her feet. “She promised Mother and Father that she’d have a root-grubber for our pot tonight. She’s a little show-off. She knows I’m not nearly as good hunting on the forest floor.” 

“Mmm, I know what it’s like... to have an older sister who’s far better at wood-lore.” 

“Oh, but you’re different. You and Venka are the same age. I’ve never seen you in anything close to a quarrel. You two are... a team. Yun and I... we’re–” 

“Sworn enemies.” 

Quicksilver nodded gravely. “For at least two more years.” 

Suntop laughed softly. “No... just a few more days. Then you’ll be close as twins for a few more days... then back again. Besides... you never saw me and Venka when we were cubs.” 

* * * 

The pair found a nice quiet pool, and collapsed on the soft grass at the water’s edge. The Great Holt grew alongside what the elves called the Green River – because it always ran slow and rich through the jungle. During the wet season the Green River flooded the entire landscape surrounding the Holt. But during the dry season the river retreated and left countless ponds and tributaries in its wake. Out on the pampas grass, many pools dried up through the summer, leaving dead fish for the birds of prey. But under the cover of the rain forest canopy, the ponds remain deep and cool, perfect places to swim and fish. 

Suntop stretched out on his stomach, and dipped his fingers into the cool water. “I don’t know, Quicksilver... sometimes... Father and Savah... they say that one day I’ll become the clear stream through which others’ thoughts flow and merge. And then Father and Skywise and I... we will be true Masters of the Palace and unite all the elves all over the world – even those we haven’t found yet. The fate of all the elves in the world might depend on me. But sometimes... do I have to be the clear stream? Why can’t I just be a still pool for a while?” 

Quicksilver drew her knees to her chest and laced her hands about her ankles. “I’m just glad I don’t have to be in your place, Suntop. I got to be a cub. You... well... when you were my age you had already defeated Winnowill twice, recovered the Palace, and heard the call of the Firstcomers. I’d be tired too, if I were you.” 

“I hate it sometimes...” Suntop sighed. “I wish... I don’t know. I wish I could be something else... take the weight off my shoulders for a while. But... I can’t. I have to keep working – trying. I don’t want to disappoint Father.” 

“Oh come on, Suntop. You could kill half the tribe in your sleep and you won’t disappoint Father.” She gave his bare shoulder a playful shove, and her hand lingered on the sun-warmed flesh a moment. 

“To some of the elders... I’m completely useless. Father... well he’s the chief hunter of our tribe. And Venka will probably end up forming her own little tribe of the best Wolfriders and go off on quests of her own. But I’m just Suntop who still trips over creepers.” 

Quicksilver laughed. “You hate Yun too! Great! You can help me – I have lots of tricks planned – Pike helped me with them.” 

Suntop smiled softly. “Oh, it’s not Yun. It’s... sometimes it’s just hard... only being understood by your closest family. To Mother and Father and Venka and Skywise I make sense. To the others... I’m... I don’t even know what I am.” 

“Hey? What about me? You make sense to me!” She looked down at the way the sun played off his shiny blond hair and his richly bronzed back, and she swallowed hard. “You... make a lot of sense to me.” 

Suntop continued to gaze into the depths of the pool. “Once I said ‘I’ll be what I’ll be.’ I wish I knew what I’m going to be. It would make it easier. I’m reaching and reaching and I don’t even know what I’m trying to grasp.” 

“Like searching for your soulname...” Quicksilver whispered. 

Suntop raised his head. Quicksilver smiled wanly. “I haven’t done a spirit quest yet. Some nights.. I think it’s the right time... to go off and sit out in the forest and find my soulname... but... then... it just doesn’t seem right. Not yet.” 

Suntop smiled. “It’ll happen. When the time is right.” 

Quicksilver grinned. “Just what I was about to say to you.” 

He blinked at her. And then he laughed. “You’re as bad as your father.” 

“Am I a Skywise to your Swift?” 

“I should hope so. You are my sister-in-all-but-blood, aren’t you?” 

Quicksilver glanced down at the grass. “Maybe something more than a sister...” she whispered coyly. “Someday...” 

Suntop met her eyes briefly, then quickly looked back into the water. 

She’s just a cub, he told himself. Just a cub. 

But she wouldn’t always be a cub... 

Oh... if he could choose Recognition, as Rain and Moonsbreath did. 

* * * 

Rayek flew ahead of the scouting party, his spear at the ready. Behind him Skywise and Savin shared a ride on Starjumper, while Swift and Venka rode on Patch. 

**Up here... past the great boulder,** Savin sent. **Just beyond our ring of signposts.** 

Rayek flew past the twenty-foot high boulder, its cracked sides covered in moss. Beyond the boulder, three large poles were sunk into the ground. Wooden masks perched on the top of the poles: blank-faced masks with large winged-ears. Strings of cat claws and deer teeth hung below the masks. 

The poles were Savin’s idea – a custom of her tribe. They were meant for human intruders, and signaled that land beyond them belonged to elves. Savin insisted that the humans in the rain forest always respected the signposts. And yet now only three signposts stood, instead of the usual four. 

Rayek found the fourth signpost. It had been hacked into pieces, and the wooden elf mask was cleaved in two. Heavy human footprints were everywhere. And next to the broken signpost was a small monkey, cruelly butchered, its intestines laid out around the mask. Already flies and roaches were devouring the remains. Swift and Venka dismounted old Patch. As Swift paced around the broken signpost, and the grisly sacrifice, Venka climbed atop the boulder for a bird’s eye view. 

Savin scowled at the broken remains of the elf mask. “I don’t like it.” 

“Maybe it’s just some passing human who doesn’t know the customs of your humans, Savin,” Skywise said. 

“Well, I wouldn’t call them our humans...” she smiled wryly. “Still... these are spirit posts. I thought everyone on the coast understood them. Besides... if it’s just some ignorant passerby, why did he hack at the mask like that?” 

“Or the monkey...” Skywise nodded. “Yes. I remember the humans at Father Tree used to torture animals for their rituals.” 

“There are at least three separate human tracks,” Venka called from atop the boulder. “One is much larger than the other two, and the smaller ones follow him. He must be the leader.” 

Rayek grinned up at her. “You make a finer Wolfrider than those with the blood.” 

**Is that a compliment, coming from you as it does, Father?** 

**Of course, daughter. It always delights me to see my children outdoing those arrogant wolf-bloods.** 

Venka’s lips curved in a teasing smile, rather like Swift’s. **Don’t pretend you don’t admire those “arrogant wolf-bloods.”** 

Swift scowled at the footprints in the soft earth. “I wouldn’t mind having some wolf blood in me again... just long enough to follow their scent.” 

“We don’t need the wolfblood this time, Mother,” Venka said. “I can see the tracks, they lead north.” She sprang up onto a branch of the nearby banyan tree. “One is limping... the smallest one. Perhaps an adolescent – or perhaps a female. But they have a good stride.” 

“This ground is wet,” Savin bend down and tested the damp, spongy moss with her fingers. “The tracks are fresh. My guess is they were here just before sunrise.” 

“They cannot be more than a few hours’ travel away,” Venka said. “Do we follow?” 

Swift bit her lip. Five elves and two wolves – and Patch past his prime – against three large humans. She preferred to play with safer odds. But then two of the elves were the tribe’s best magic-users, and Savin was a born native of the rain forest. No... the odds were good enough. 

“We follow,” Swift nodded. “In the trees, out of sight. Starjumper and Patch can follow on foot.” 

Savin sighed as she hefted her slender spear. “Trees... twelve years and I still can’t understand this obsession with trees.” 

**I know what you mean,** Rayek sent. **Would you like a lift?** 

**A chance to get my arms around you, brownskin – and to make those two jealous for a chance? I wouldn’t dream of passing it up.** Savin slipped her arms around Rayek’s shoulders and he flew up to the branch where Venka waited. 

Skywise clenched his teeth to see his lifemate embracing Rayek. **He’s paying us back.** 

Swift smirked. **He’s very good at revenge. Come on.** 

The soul siblings scrambled up into the trees and the party began their search. Venka led the way, ably reading the faded tracks with an almost supernatural skill. Sometimes they almost lost sight of her in the shadows as she raced ahead, her long mane of black hair blending in with the forest darkness. Though she bore no trace of wolf blood, Venka had long since proved herself a worthy heir to the Wolfriders to even the most stubborn traditionalists. She could follow tracks with her eyes alone when Redlance lost the scent. Shortly after she turned eight-and-four, she had discovered her ability to paralyze with her stare, just like her father. And the magic-blocking powers she had kindled since infancy had long ago saved the entire tribe from Winnowill’s machinations. 

Despite her ambivalence about tree-walking, Savin kept pace with the Wolfriders, ably darting from branch to branch, springing aside to avoid a sleepy sloth. Rayek flew alongside, quite content to remain airborne. 

**It feels strange – but I’m almost glad for this...** Swift sent. **It’s good to have something to concentrate on.** 

**And not think of Skyfrost?** 

**We never really got along – I don’t know why I miss her so much.** 

**She was your wolf-friend. Of course you miss her.** 

**Rayek! You’re becoming more a Wolfrider than you’d think.** 

**Bite your tongue!** 

The forest fell back into a large meadow of pampas grass. Rayek lifted Venka high into the air so she could continue to follow the tracks. For a moment the maiden lost the humans in the countless paths through the tall grass. But then she spotted their footprints, and the party set off again, wading through the grass, their weapons raised for stalking birds and large cats. It was a relief to return to the shade and safety of the trees at the north edge of the meadow. 

Soon the faint smell of smoke crept into the air around them, and they knew the search was almost over. At length Venka bade them to slow their pace. The elves crept to join her on a large vine-laden branch, overlooking a small campsite where the three humans had stopped to rest. They were all males, and sure enough, the youngest one was nursing a small wound to his leg. Swift looked them over carefully. She had seen few humans since they moved to the rain forest – just a few from the villages near Crest Point, where Savin’s tribe kept their “holt.” These men seemed like the average southern New Land human – clad in scraps of crudely-tanned leather, bare limbs painted with colored clay and other pigments, ears pierced with bone needles. They were sitting about, arguing loudly. The young male was pressing a poultice of leaves to his oozing wound – an infected porcupine quill puncture to Swift’s sharp eyes. 

But Savin had already formed her own opinion. **They’re coastal folk – from the west. They trade sometimes with “our” humans, but they don’t often come this far inland into the jungle.** 

**Are they dangerous?** Skywise asked. Swift glanced at her brother-in-all-but-blood and she could tell he was remembering the countless atrocities committed against the Wolfriders by the Followers of Gotara, and the Hoan G’Tay Sho. 

**Hold on... I’m going to try something,** Savin dropped down from the branch. 

**Nimh – what are you doing?** Skywise cried in a private sending. 

**Don’t worry, Fahr... I just want to see if they–** Savin crouched under the cover of a large tree-growing fern, then called out in a strange tongue the Wolfriders didn’t understand. 

“Kaseh tuuina gabal te? Orsi ji haji tal sa?” 

The humans leapt up, their obsidian weapons drawn. The leader raised his dagger and began to shout back to the trees in the harsh gibberish. 

**Puckernuts!** Skywise cried and lunged forward. But Swift caught him before he leapt down to join Savin. 

**Tam! Let me go. She’s going to get herself killed!** 

**Wait. Let’s see what happens. Maybe she can talk to them.** 

**She’s crazy! She said herself their destruction of our signposts is a sign they want to hurt us. Let me go–** 

**You’ll stay put! That’s an order. Rayek, Venka. On my command, you’ll get her out of there. On my word, not before.** 

Father and daughter nodded. 

**Tam–** 

**We’re in her territory, Skywise. Trust her.** 

Savin continued to talk with the humans from her hiding place. Then she rose, revealed herself to the trio of humans, and dropped down to the ground. Again Skywise lunged forward, and again Swift held him back. 

The humans slowly lowered their weapons as Savin stepped forward. She spread her arms wide and continued to talk. The humans lowered their heads. 

**I wish I knew what they are saying,** Swift sent. 

Savin moved over to the young human and bade him to sit on a rock. She examined the wound, then tossed the poultice aside. The large human started to quarrel with her loudly, and again Swift held Skywise tight so he couldn’t bound down to his lifemate’s defense. The humans and Savin continued to argue, and then Savin strode over to a small plant growing on the edge of their camp. She plucked several leaves and showed them to the leader. The two continued to converse for a little while longer, and then the large human laughed. He bent at the waist to Savin, then reached out at caught her wrist. Again Skywise almost bolted, and again Swift restrained him. But the human did not attack Savin. He simply touched her hand to his face, then released her. Savin said a few more words to the three, then climbed back into the trees. 

**It’s all right,** Savin sent. **We can go back to the Holt.** 

Skywise caught Savin in his arms and embraced her. **Nimh, what were you thinking? They could have killed you!** He kissed her fiercely. **And then what would I do without you?** 

Savin kissed him back, her mind laughing in his. **I told you not to worry, Fahr. They wouldn’t have hurt me.** 

**Savin,** Swift sent. The lifemates reluctantly parted. Skywise pulled her into his lap and wrapped his arms tight about her. 

**What happened? What were you talking about?** 

Savin shrugged. **I went down and asked them why they had defiled the spirits’ territory, and if they knew what they had done.** She smiled. **They weren’t threatening us after all. The leader explained everything. They are a hunting party who left the coast several days ago to take the youngest one on a rite of passage. It’s what they do when one of their kits grows up. But the young one was hurt by a porcupine – they don’t have porcupines on the coast – they didn’t know how best to treat it. They are very superstitious, even more than “our” humans. They thought his wound was caused by the spirits. And the big one – the leader – he remembered that there was talk of spirits in the east, and they traveled to ask the spirits for help. But when they prayed to the masks on our signposts, and got no answer the big one lost his temper. He broke the mask open, hoping he could force a spirit to face him. When nothing happened he was terrified he had offended us, so he sacrificed the monkey to appease us. I think they think that we use monkeys as messengers between our world and the human’s world. So I told him that the signposts don’t work that way, and that the spirits didn’t cause the kit’s wound. And I showed him the right kind of plant to take the swelling down and drive out the infection. And he wanted me to bless him. And that was that.** 

Swift clapped her hand to her mouth before she could laugh. **Mmph, come on. Let’s leave the humans alone.** 

The elves crept away from the campsite as Savin continued to relate what had happened. And then Swift motioned for them to sit down again, several hundred paces away from the humans. **So the coast folk aren’t our enemies, then?** Swift asked. 

**No, not at all. When I told him that we don’t want to be bothered by humans, he said he would make sure his tribe never violates our signposts again. I told him they could simply sit vigil at the signposts if they were ever in dire need, but that we liked to be left alone.** 

Swift leveled a steady gaze at Savin. **Next time, tell me your plan before you go throwing yourself into danger.** 

Savin gave her a guilty smirk. **Sorry, Swift. It’s... it’s just the way we do things.** 

**Well, you’re living with Wolfriders now, not pirates. And I won’t always be on hand to tie your lifemate down when you rush off like that.** 

Savin nodded, somewhat reluctantly. 

Swift grinned and patted Savin’s shoulder. **And as soon as we get back to the Holt, I want you to start teaching us the human tongue they use here. We can’t always count on you to be on hand the next time we cross paths with humans.** 

* * * 

Zhantee rushed up to embrace Venka as the scouting party returned to camp. “Humans, Venka? See – I should have come along so I could shield you... and the others, in case something happened.” 

Venka smiled. “You would have found it very boring, dear lovemate. All we did was sit in a tree while Savin talked to the humans.” 

Elves seemed to sprout from the trees as the tribe gathered around the scouting party to hear the news. Among the last to arrive were Suntop and Quicksilver. 

“Mother – you talked to humans?” Quicksilver’s eyes were wide with admiration as the tale unfolded. 

“Oh, don’t look at me like I’m the Mother of Memory or something. You’re half a pirate, Quicksilver, you know my kin are always chatting with those thick-skulled round-ears. I was just lucky that they knew the same dialect as the humans at Crest Point. The thanks should go to Venka. She was able to track the humans through bogs and tall grass. Who knows – if we hadn’t tracked them down and helped heal their kit, they might have come back full of rage and blamed the ‘spirits’ for his death.” 

Suntop met his sister’s eyes. **Good hunt?** 

**It was hardly a hunt. I just have an eye for tracks.** 

**I can’t even tell a ravvit track from a tusk-deer. I’d have been lost out there.** 

**We all have our gifts, Suntop. I won’t be flying the Palace and uniting all elves’ thoughts in the near future.** 

Suntop smiled. But inwardly he sighed. Why was it Venka had always found her Way so easily, while he always struggled, out of pace with the rest of the world? 

* * * 

Suntop stood at the transparent outer walls of the Palace, watching the party of Wolfrider wend its way below the hilltop. Behind him Skywise was staring deep into the Scroll of Color, watching the colors and patterns shift as he turned the scroll. He had not yet mastered the elfin artifact to the extent that Rayek had, but now that Rayek was safely out of the Palace, the stargazer was intent on squeezing in a little extra practice. 

“Your father would never let me take my turn at the Scroll if Swift didn’t drag him out of the Palace more often,” he chuckled. “Ohhh, for the day the High One returns to her elf-form. Imagine what she could teach us, Suntop. We could fly to other worlds, other stars. Hah – not that we’ve seen enough of this world yet, eh, Suntop? Suntop?” 

Suntop’s eyes lit up as he saw Rayek flying alongside the line of mounted elves. 

“A twilight hunt!” Suntop cried. “Great sun! Mother’s picked her toughest. Father, Nightfall, Strongbow, Dart, Venka, Pike, Skot... and Rain too. That means extra danger. And Mother’s riding Timmain now! Skywise, what are they hunting?” 

Skywise reluctantly guided the scroll halves to sit back in their stands. “I don’t know, cub. Something big, I’m sure.” 

“I wish I could see... wish I could...” 

Suntop waved his hand and the wall opened up. He darted outside the Palace and began to jog down the hillside. **Wait!** Skywise called. **Suntop – what?** 

**I’m going too, Skywise.** I’m going to prove to them all that I’m a Wolfrider too, he vowed silently. I’ll make Mother proud. 

**Pebble!** he called, and his wolf roused herself from the ferns where she was napping. Suntop climbed astride her on the run and rode down the hillside, intercepting the hunting party in the gully below. 

Swift signaled the party to stop. She turned astride Timmain. “Eh – Suntop? Well hello, cub. Sit in a fire ant’s nest?” 

Suntop drew Pebble up alongside Timmain. “Don’t leave without me. I can ride Pebble with the rest of the party. I want to see – I want to go hunting with you.” 

Rayek floated back to the ground. “Calm down, now, Suntop. Think – we’re going to hunt the shagback the old archer spotted out in the grassland. That’s not something undertaken lightly.” 

“It gets pretty rough out there,” Pike added. 

Skot leaned around from behind his lifemate. “Right, Suntop. There’s all sort of things that can snatch you in the long grass. Stalking birds as tall as the biggest human and huge spotted cats and every slithery kind of snake you can imagine. You might want to stick to root-grubbers and treewees for now.” 

“I say he should come with us,” Venka said imperiously. 

Swift looked over her son appraisingly. “He’s survived plenty worse than a stalking bird, Skot. All right, Suntop. Let’s hunt.” 

**Tam...** Rayek sent. **He’s just a child.** 

**You’d never raise objection to Venka coming.** 

**Venka is a huntress. Suntop... his place is in the Palace. He shouldn’t have to dirty his hands with sweat and blood and death.** 

Swift smiled. **He might just surprise you, bead-rattler.** Swift patted Timmain’s white ruff. “All right, High One. Take us to the shagback.” 

The hunting party slowly paced towards the edge of the forest. His wish granted, Suntop guided Pebble alongside Venka had old Patch. **You look nervous,** Venka teased lightly. 

**Can’t be any worse than dealing with Winnowill... can it?** 

* * * 

The wolves took up position at the edge of the tall grass. The large herd of shagback had already worn the grass short in a large radius, but nine years of living in the south had taught the Wolfriders that whatever grass wasn’t snipped off by the creatures’ blunt teeth would spring back into shape by midnight. Everything was always growing on the long spire of land that pierced the Vastdeep Water like a spear, Crest Point at its tip. 

The huge shagbacks were slightly less hairy than their northern relatives which the Wolfriders had encountered on the great plains. But they were just as large and just as ill-tempered. Males and females alike had long horns that curved down over their heads, to help them dig up roots and tubers during the scalding dry season. A hump over their shoulders held the powerful shoulder muscles that anchored to their front legs. Heavy bone on their skulls made a formidable defense. 

“Mmmrrrraawwww!” a low bellow drifted across the meadow, and at least twenty large heads lifted up from the grass. 

**Scented already,** Swift send. **They’re quick beasts, aren’t they?” 

**They’re bunching up,** Strongbow sent. **It’s now or never.** 

**Rayek, Strongbow, Pike, Dart, Skot – strike fast, make it count. The rest – go underbelly. Let the wolves do the work.** 

Suntop and Venka exchanged glances as they slipped under their wolves and wrapped their legs about their mounts’ waists. Suntop clenched Pebble’s black-streaked hair tightly. He hadn’t ridden underbelly for a long time. 

Rain hung back in the trees as his wolf-friend joined the attack. Instinctively the wolves surrounded the herd while Rayek led the advance assault with his spear at the ready. Strongbow and Dart followed on their wolves, while Pike and Skot held up the rear astride Pike’s Tiptail. 

**The big one!** Rayek sent to Strongbow. **And the one with the broken horn. You take one, I’ll take the other–** 

**No. We will take only one tonight. And don’t try any of your magic on him, Rayek. I want the kill to be clean–** 

**I am the chief hunter, not you, archer! We take both.** Rayek was already flying into position to strike at the old shagback with the broken horn. Grudgingly Rayek restricted himself to the use of his spear. He could bring both shagbacks to ground if he could meet their eyes, but the Wolfriders would not accept it. Even Swift, though she admired the mercy of Rayek’s technique, insisted that he hunt by Wolfrider rules with the tribe. The prey had to have the ability to fight back, otherwise a fair hunt would become a pointless slaughter. 

Rayek saw the honor in the Wolfrider way now. But he also saw the danger in it. 

He risked a glance at Suntop and Pebble as he circled the herd again, jabbing at the rebelling shagback with his spear. He could trust Swift and Venka to keep their wits. But Suntop was so inexperienced in the hunt. 

Strongbow lined up his sights on the massive shagback and let his arrow fly. But with a little twitch of the head the shagback blocked the shot, and the arrow ricocheted harmlessly off his bony head. 

Puckernuts, Nightfall thought as she guided Rufftail into another sweep around the panicking herd. That’s one hard skull. 

The wolves harried the herd, keeping them closely contained. **We have to hurry,** Swift called. **If they stampede the chase is lost.** 

Rayek hurled his spear at the broken-horned shagback. The creature turned his head just enough for the spear to miss the vulnerable eye. Instead the point sunk into the beast’s cheek, enough to kill, but not immediately. As the shagback bleated in agony and sank to his knees, Pike and Skot raced up on Tiptail. Pike angled his spear for the perfect thrust, and just as the shagback raised its head to cry out, Tiptail surged forward and Pike drove the spear deep into the beast’s throat. Dark blood sprayed out, spattering on wolf and riders. Skot laughed out loud. 

**Keep your wits, Go-Back!** Rayek sent. **We’ve one more to finish.** 

The largest shagback charged Strongbow, and the entire herd began to stampede. Quickly the wolves leapt in at the shagbacks’ heels, forcing the herd to cluster back into a defensive circle. Patch darted in to hamstring one of the shagbacks – the aging wolf had his own ideas about which to kill. 

**Stop, Patch!** Venka sent. **Too close.** 

The shagback retaliated with a hard kick to Patch’s ribs. The impact threw the wolf off his feet, and knocked Venka loose from his belly. The elf maiden hit the ground and instinctively rolled to protect herself. But the shagback’s kick had sent her directly into the patch of another stampeding beast. 

“Daughter!” Rayek cried from the other side of the stampeding herd. He darted through the air, dodging angry shagbacks. 

“Pebble! Get Venka!” Suntop cried. But Pebble was already darting to rescue the elf as Venka rolled out the way of a deadly jab from the shagback’s horns. The shagback lunged again at the fallen elf, and Suntop reached out instinctively to catch the long horn. 

“No, you don’t!” 

“Suntop – let go!” Venka screamed. 

Time seemed to slow. Suntop felt the shagback’s breath on his hand. He felt himself yanked out from under Pebble. The shagback tossed his head and Suntop sailed through the air. 

He heard a cry. It took him a moment to realize it was his own. 

He hit the ground hard. Pain shot up from his left shoulder. And there, looming over him was the enraged shagback, its cloven hoof already descending. 

“Nooo!” Suntop cried, raising his hand in a feeble attempt to defend himself. 

The hoof struck home. 

* * * 

Quicksilver yawned and sat back against the sinuous roots of the banyan tree. She and the other cubs were relaxing on one of the many platforms Redlance had shaped out of the three banyan trees that formed the Great Holt. New roots were constantly sprouting from the branches and snaking down to the earth, and Redlance was always touching up his work with a little treeshaping magic, coaxing the roots away from the platforms and dens. 

“I wish I was out hunting,” Kimo said. The twelve-year-old clutched his new wolf-friend. “When Darkbrook gets a little bigger, then he and I can go hunting with Dart!” 

Quicksilver giggled. “Will you ever look to anyone but Dart, Kimo? What about poor Spar?” She nodded to the redhaired girl stretched out on the wood floor, using her full-grown wolf-friend’s back as a pillow. “Doesn’t she get a chance with Dart?” 

Nightfall’s daughter laughed. “Ahh, let Kimo have him. I’ve already got my eye on another.” 

“Who? Who?” Quicksilver grinned. “Come on, tell me.” 

The redhead smiled slyly. “Wouldn’t you like to know.” 

Quicksilver drew her knees to her chest. “Well it can’t be Kimo, we all know he only looks to the lads and you’re too smart to pine over a lost cause. So... Windkin? Hah – it is Windkin, isn’t it? I should warn you, Yun has her heart set on him herself.” 

“It’s not her heart she’s got set on him,” Spar said, and the three agemates laughed. 

Yun glanced down from the tree branch upon which she was perched, ten feet above the platform. “Watch it, Spar, or I’ll come down and knock some manners into you. And ‘Silver, how do you know she doesn’t have her eye on a certain golden-haired lad?” 

Quicksilver glared up at her sister. “Don’t joke.” 

“I’m not. That Suntop’s a fine piece of prey – even if he is always tripping over creepers.” 

“You leave him alone. He’s my soulbrother.” 

“You haven’t Recognized him yet.” 

“You leave him alone, you hear?” 

Yun laughed. “That got your hackles up.” But she knew not to tease her little sister anymore. So he leaned back against her branch. “And besides, I think I may have my eye on Dart anyway.” 

“Good luck,” Quicksilver laughed. “He never looks to the maidens.” And then she winced slightly and touched her hand to her forehead. 

“Hey, what is it?” Spar asked. “You haven’t been indulging in dreamberries again, have you?” 

“No – haven’t had a single berry all day.” Quicksilver shook her head. “Agh, it’s nothing. Maybe a bit of heatstroke.” 

“It’s not really that hot,” Spar said. 

“It’s nothing, I’m fine. I – aaaagghhh!” Quicksilver cried, her hands clenching the side of her head. Yun sprang down from the branch above. 

“Quicksilver – ‘Silver, what is it?” She shook Quicksilver as the girl continued to scream. “’Silver – answer me!” 

Quicksilver stared up at her sister. “It’s Suntop! He’s hurt.” 

* * * 

“To me! To me – now!” Rain shouted from the forest’s edge. 

Rayek drove through the air. But he was still too far away, and as Suntop lay moaning on the ground, the shagback reared up to plunge both hooves into the broken elf’s body. 

“Hey!” Venka shouted, scrambling to her feet. She looked up at the shagback and her golden eyes glowed. Suddenly the shagback froze in mid-air, paralyzed by Venka’s magic. The beast wobbled on his hind legs and Venka drew her throwing dagger and sent it flying into the shagback’s throat, just as Rayek swooped down to snatch his son from the ground. 

“Got you!” Rayek cried. He flew towards the trees as fast as he could, cradling his son in his arms. Swift and Timmain were already racing to meet them. 

“Go, Timmain, go!” Swift hissed in the wolf’s ear. 

Rain broke out of the trees, waving. Rayek dropped to the ground and gently laid Suntop in the healer’s arms. Rain sank to the ground, his hand on the swollen, misshapen wound the hoof had inflicted. 

“How is it – how bad?” Rayek demanded urgently. “Rain! Answer me.” 

“Shh...” Rain hissed. “It’s bad. But not for long. Let me work in peace. I’ll heal this broken sapling.” 

Swift dismounted from Timmain’s back and fell at Rayek’s side. A faint glow surrounded healer and patient. **Return to the hunt, my chief,** Rain sent. **All is well in hand.** 

“Never,” Swift whispered. Her hand groped out, and Rayek seized it tightly. 

Venka joined them to sit vigil. Swift glanced over her shoulder and saw that the Wolfriders didn’t need their chief right now. Both chosen shagbacks were dead, and the wolves had let the rest of the herd flee. Already Pike and Skot were helping Nightfall butcher the broken-horned one. Strongbow stood silently by the kill, staring at his chief and her family. 

“I swear... if Strongbow gives you grief about an unfair kill–” Rayek murmured under his breath. Venka touched his shoulder lightly, and he fell silent. 

Suntop was beginning to stir now, and he began to gasp weakly. His breathing trebled its speed and Rain touched his cheek, willing him to relax. “Shh, cubling,” he soothed. “I know you’ve not experienced such pain before. It will end soon... just lie still.” 

Suntop tossed convulsively, then went still again. 

Swift heard a loud crash in the trees and she turned, her hand touching the hilt of New Moon. It would be their luck if a spotted cat decided to strike just then. But no, it was Quicksilver, riding on her Featherfur. 

The girl sprang from her wolf’s back and raced towards them. Swift got up and caught Quicksilver before she would have flung herself on Suntop’s prone form. “No, no!” Swift said. “Wait – wait! Oh, you’re as bad as your father! Let Rain heal him!” 

“What happened? What happened? I felt it – I felt it!” 

“Shhh. Shhh – it’s all right! Rain is healing him.” 

Suntop stirred. He moaned softly and opened his eyes. Quicksilver squirmed free from Swift’s grasp and dropped to the ground. “Suntop!” she cried. She caught his hand, afraid to hug him. Suntop looked up at her. And he gasped sharply, his eyes widening. 

Quicksilver’s breath caught in her throat. They stared at each other for a long moment, then Suntop winced, sitting up. “Hsss – it still hurts.” 

“I know,” Rain said a little tightly. “If you would just hold still....” He put his hand to Suntop’s side and the soft healing glow resumed. 

“Quicksilver,” Swift looked at the girl. “Are you all right?” 

“I’m.... I’m fine...” Quicksilver breathed. “But Suntop – Suntop, is he–” 

“He’s fine,” Rain removed his hand from Suntop’s side and helped the boy sit up. 

Suntop moaned softly, rubbing his side. “Ohhhh... sorry, Mother... I didn’t make much of a Wolfrider.” 

“Hush. You saved your sister’s life. I’ve seldom seen a braver Wolfrider.” 

“Venka... is she?” 

“I’m right here, brother,” Venka said. 

Suntop blinked up at Rayek. “You... you’ll never let me out of the Palace now, will you, Father?” 

Rayek shook his head. “I doubt that would do much good. You have your Mother’s stubbornness.”**And her brave heart.** 

“Up, up,” Rain helped Suntop to stand. “You’ll feel better as soon as you start moving.” 

Venka and Rayek took Suntop’s hands and steadied him. “You always said you’d be what you’d be,” Rayek said. “But please, Suntop, for my own health, don’t be a Wolfrider too often.” 

* * * 

Suntop shifted on the soft furs of his tree den as first light started to filter through the forest canopy. A faint bruise lingered on his abdomen, but the searing pain from his broken ribs and punctured lung had faded to a dull itch, like a chafing boot. 

“I know you didn’t decide to join the hunt to prove yourself to your mother,” Rayek said as he adjusted Suntop’s pillows. “You can’t be so blind to think she isn’t just as proud of you as she is of Venka. So just who were you trying to impress?” 

“I don’t know, Father. The elders like Strongbow, maybe. Maybe... maybe just myself.” 

“Well, that’s something I understand. Though I trust you have heeded the lesson of pain now, my son.” 

“What... nhh – lesson is that, Father?” 

Rayek winked. “Avoid it.” And he gave Suntop’s nose a playful tweak. 

Quicksilver appeared in the circular opening of the den. “Hey, Suntop!” she grinned a little wickedly. There was a certain new light in her eyes that gave Suntop pause. 

“Hey... where have you been? You disappeared after I got back to the Holt.” 

“I...” Quicksilver glanced at Rayek. The hunter smiled and slipped out of the den. Quicksilver slipped onto the furs next to Suntop. 

“I did it,” she whispered. 

“Did what?” 

“Went on a spirit quest. I found my soulname.” 

“You did? Oh, ‘Silver, that’s great.” 

She smiled shyly. “After... what happened... back there... I knew I had to.” 

“What... did happen back there? We touched hands... and then...” 

“I heard part of it... or an echo of it. My soulname... and yours... I think.” 

Suntop nodded. “An echo... like half a melody... almost there, but not quite.” 

Quicksilver bit her lip. “So... I figured I had to go... and find the rest of my own soulname. And I found it. And everything makes sense now.” 

“What is it?” Suntop asked gamely. 

She swatted at his shoulder. “I’m not telling you! It’ll happen when it happens. We already heard half of them... we’ll get the rest later... when it happens. Like with our parents.” 

“You mean Swift and Skywise?” 

“Uh-huh,” she lowered her eyes. “Or.. Swift and Rayek, or Skywise and Savin...” 

Suntop swallowed. “Sounds like Recognition.” 

She glanced up at him through a veil of silver eyelashes. “That’s what we’re talking about... isn’t it?” 

Suntop smiled softly. “Yeah... I guess it is.” 

* * * 

Swift sat on the soft mosses that grew alongside a tributary of the Green River, Timmain stretched out at her side. Swift scratched the wolf’s ears idly. “Well, I don’t Yun will be teasing Suntop about being a little less than a Wolfrider anymore. What do you think, Timmain?” 

Timmain yawned and unfurled her pink tongue. 

“You should be in the Palace, helping him learn to master its secrets. Bah, it’s probably your bad example that makes Suntop think he needs to impress us. What do you say to that, hmm? Silent as ever?” 

Timmain stretched her front legs out, then sneezed. 

“Fine, keep your own counsel, growler-growler-highthing.” Swift gave her a little wrap on the head with her knuckles. “Tell you what. Let’s make a deal. If you’re so intent on remaining a wolf, then you can be my new wolf-friend. And we’ll be bonded fast until you can’t take it anymore and shape shift back just to be rid of me. What do you say?” 

Timmain panted a little, then licked Swift’s hand. 

“Hah, you’re a charmer, High One. But let’s see how long that grin lasts.” She got up and stretched. “Come on, let’s go see Suntop. The sun’s just coming up, perfect for a private little prowl for mother and son.”

**Author's Note:**

> Check out the full EQ Alternaverse at http://www.janesenese.com/swiftverse


End file.
